Philosophy of Race (V7083E)

Source: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/modules/undergraduate/2026/101321-philosophy-of-race Parent: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/business-analytics-bsc-hons

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

What can philosophy contribute to our understanding of race, of racism, and to the pursuit of justice and equality in the context of race?

Although philosophers have been carrying out important critical investigations into the topic of race for a long time, work in this area increased significantly during the 20th century. Investigations of metaphysical, linguistic, political, and historical questions about race and racism now constitute a highly active area of philosophical research.

On this module you’ll consider, and try to answer, a series of questions:

• are there such things as races? If so, what sort of things are they?
• are races biological categories, or are they socially constructed?
• should we retain our concepts of race, or should we attempt to modify or even stop using them altogether?
• what does it mean to describe something or someone as ‘racist’?
• what sort of action should we take to address contemporary and contemporary racial injustices?
• what roles have race and racism played in the history of philosophy, and what roles do they play in our understanding of philosophy today?

Teaching

50%: Lecture\ 50%: Seminar\

Assessment

100%: Written assessment (Essay)\

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.